


Summer Fever

by bumblehee (Halluciinatiion)



Category: A.C.E (Beat Interactive Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Childhood Friends, Cute, Fluff, Growing Up, I Tried, M/M, Mutual Pining, One Shot, i think this is it, just a little, sad if you use a magnifying glass
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-08
Updated: 2019-04-08
Packaged: 2020-01-06 23:37:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18398675
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Halluciinatiion/pseuds/bumblehee
Summary: “You’ve changed” Junhee then said, leaning forward and trying to catch Donghun’s eyes.“It’s my hair, isn’t it?” Donghun joked a little, being forced to look into Junhee’s eyes for a third time.Junhee laughed, Donghun’s ears perked up at the sound he tried to recall for so long but couldn’t.Even though his voice had gotten lower, his laugh was just as high pitched as before.“Yeah, that too” Junhee then said, and left it to be.They finished the rest of their ice cream in silence.Everything had changed, but somehow nothing had changed at all.Donghun felt warm inside.Maybe he was getting a fever.





	Summer Fever

**Author's Note:**

> i’ve had a writer’s block for like 3 years, then some hot days came along and suddenly this happened?  
> my writing is a little rusty but i hope it’s worth reading, i tried my best!!  
> (apologies for any spelling mistakes)
> 
> i listened to this song while writing it, maybe you'd want to listen to it too :^)  
> anemone - slenderbodies  
> 

Donghun’s eyes hurt from looking at the sun for too long, his face a soft red tone from the heat that matched the colour of his hair. He walked along the street, letting his feet kick small pebbles. It was barely summer yet, but the sudden hot days were welcomed. (Donghun immediately wanted to wear shorts and crop tops in bright colors. Maybe that was why he dyed his hair red, he thought.)

The ice cream store was still open, although the light of the sign was illuminated by the light of the downing sun. The little bell rang as he walked into the store, the same bell that he had heard his entire childhood when he went for ice cream. It reminded him of good, careless times in the middle of the summer holidays. Donghun licked his lips and let his gaze travel over the variety of ice cream, wondering which flavour would be the daily special. It was a rainbow coloured one with watermelon flavour, and he couldn’t resist just by the way the colours stood out from any other ice cream in the store.  
He ordered two scoops in a little cup.  
He hated the way ice cream melted too fast in cones, dripping down and staining his shirts.

 

He sat down at the front of the store, not wanting the remaining sunlight to go to waste. He sat in silence, enjoying the view, as he used the plastic spoon to let the watermelon flavoured ice cream melt in his mouth.  
Flowers were blooming on the side of the road, suffering from the heat and lack of rain. However, his view and peaceful silence was quickly disrupted by the rumbling of an engine and a sky blue bus stopping right at the opposite side of the street. It was seemingly empty, but as the bus drove away there was a silhouette standing, with a big guitar case on his back and a bag in his hand. Donghun couldn’t help but think the slender silhouette somehow seemed familiar.

He wasn’t left wondering for long, because the figure turned around, crossed the street and made his way right over to the ice cream store. That was when Donghun noticed. It was Junhee, his neighbour.  
Or at least he used to be.  
When they were kids.  
Donghun wanted to say they used to be best friends, but Junhee broke his heart when he moved away into the city. It wasn’t Junhee’s fault, he knows now, but when he was a kid he couldn’t get over it. He still couldn’t.  
They told each other that they’d stay in contact, but as every childhood story like this goes, they didn’t. So Donghun was surprised to say the least, to see Junhee suddenly standing there. He only noticed he was staring at him when their eyes met. Luckily, Donghun thought, Junhee continued his way into the store and Donghun quickly averted his gaze to his rainbow coloured ice cream, melting into a nasty colour.  
Junhee probably didn’t recognise him anyway.  
He felt his body heat up.  
Maybe he was getting a fever.

 

Next to him the bell rang after a few minutes, but Donghun didn’t dare to look up. In the corner of his eye, someone sat down next to him.  
It could really only be one person, couldn’t it?

  
“Hey, Donghun” a soft voice spoke coming from his right side. He was forced to look up now, and so he did.  
It was Junhee, like he expected the person to be. As their eyes met for the second time today, Donghun was starstruck. It was weird, seeing him after so long. His black hair was the longest he had ever seen on him, his brown eyes were honey coloured from the sunlight but his skin was pale in contrast.  
The only thing that was exactly like Donghun remembered, was his smile.  
Perfect rows of white teeth. His lips were plump, stained red - probably from sucking on too many sweet lollipops, if he was in any way the same as he used to be.

  
“Junhee, hi” Donghun quietly answered.  
There was a slight pause.  
“You’re back” Donghun decided to say.  
“I guess so” Junhee replied with a shy smile.  
Only now Donghun noticed Junhee was holding a cone of red, cherry flavoured ice cream, still untouched, a drop already traveling down. If Junhee wouldn’t be careful it would drip all over his black printed shirt. Stupid.  
“It’s melting” Donghun remarked, still eyeing the drop.  
Junhee made a small confused sound while turning the ice cream cone around, noticing the trail of ice cream and quickly catching it with his tongue.  
Donghun looked away.

  
“I missed this ice cream, no other will ever be better than the ice cream from this store” Junhee told him. “In the city it just isn’t the same”.  
Donghun just smiled.  
Why did he leave, then?  
“You’ve changed” Junhee then said, leaning forward and trying to catch Donghun’s eyes.  
“It’s my hair, isn’t it?” Donghun joked a little, being forced to look into Junhee’s eyes for a third time.  
Junhee laughed, Donghun’s ears perked up at the sound he tried to recall for so long but couldn’t. Even though his voice had gotten lower, his laugh was just as high pitched as before.  
“Yeah, that too” Junhee then said, and left it to be.  
They finished the rest of their ice cream in silence.  
Everything had changed, but somehow nothing had changed at all.  
Donghun felt warm again inside.  
Yeah, he was getting a fever.

“I should go” Donghun mentioned, throwing his empty cup away. Junhee remained seating on the bench, a question on his lips.  
“Would you mind if I went along? I’d... like to see my house. From when I was little. I mean, you still live next to it, right?” Junhee spilled out.  
“I do, sure” Donghun answered. He wondered what made Junhee suddenly return to town, wanting to see his house.  
But he decided not to ask.  
Junhee rarely spoke his feelings out loud.

 

They walked next to each other on the pavement, the sun now in their backs. Junhee was wearing dark clothing, compared to Donghun’s bright coloured clothes. He wondered how Junhee could keep up with the heat.  
Maybe he’d been in the city for so long, that he’d forgotten what his childhood town was like, Donghun thought.

They sat down on the porch of Junhee’s house, the one he had lived at for the majority of his life.  
“It’s... the same” Junhee remarked, with a slightly confused tone in his voice.  
“No one moved here once you left” Donghun cleared up. The town wasn’t well-known, neither was it beloved by many. It was rare for new families to move in, most families from this town had a long history here.

That had only made it more difficult for Donghun. He remembered looking out of his window that was opposite to Junhee’s, the window they used to make silly faces through and place notes for each other when Junhee’s parents forbid him to leave the house, or when they couldn’t sleep. Donghun remembered the lollipops on his bed, when he came back home from school and left his window open.

“I missed you, you know” Donghun told Junhee, fiddling with his feet as he leaned back on his hands.  
After Junhee, no one had come that was the same.  
No one made Donghun feel like Junhee could.  
No one could ever give Donghun butterflies in his stomach and rosy cheeks like Junhee could.  
“I missed you too, honestly” Junhee replied. It was rare for Junhee to say his feelings out loud this way. It made Donghun feel warm inside, even warmer than the setting sun on his skin. His fever must be acting up again.  
The cold drop of rain on his leg startled him, and he pulled his legs closer to his body under the canopy. When the rain drizzled down, it seemed to be made of gold, reflecting in the sunlight.  
Junhee was mesmerised by the sight.  
Donghun was mesmerised by Junhee.

 

Junhee was thankful when Donghun gave him the key to his old house. Donghun hadn’t had the heart to get rid of the spare key, he had kept it in the drawer of his nightstand, hidden underneath his socks.  
Not to mention that he went to Junhee’s house often when everything seemed like it was too much. Most of the furniture was long gone, but there were still some chairs worth sitting on.  
Donghun remembered going to Junhee’s room a lot. His bed was still there, left behind. Like it was still in use.  
He had wondered how Junhee would have seen him through the window. If he had the same feelings when doing so as Donghun did. He remembered tracing his fingers over the sticky marks upon the window, the remnants from hung up notes.

They parted ways not soon after, he went back to his own house.  
When Donghun saw a lollipop on his bed, he felt like a kid again.  
(When Donghun fell asleep, he dreamt about Junhee. About them. Running through fields, falling off swings. Ice cream all over both their faces, sticking their tongues out at passers-by.)

 

It had continued to rain during the night. The air smelled like petrichor in the morning when Donghun went to open his window.  
His heart skipped a beat when he saw a note stuck on the window opposite to his.

 

_Meet me at the lake at 10_

 

Junhee had seemed to notice his dark clothing wasn’t going to help him through the heat, and so he was wearing a red shirt today. Donghun wondered if he did it on purpose to match Donghun’s hair.  
Donghun made his way through the grass, staining the white soles of his converse.  
Junhee was sitting on the swing set, looking out over the water, surrounded by blooming blossom trees.

It seemed ethereal, Donghun was almost afraid to burst the bubble of solace.  
He said nothing, and instead just sat down on the swing next to Junhee.  
Junhee turned his head towards Donghun, hair bouncing and catching the sunlight in the process.  
“I’m glad you came” Junhee said.  
“I wanted to” Donghun answered.  
There was a comfortable silence. Both of them just smiled at each other.  
Junhee was the first to break eye contact, as he got his guitar from the case.  
This was a side of him Donghun had never seen before.  
He was reminded of how much time had passed.  
But when Junhee played him a song on his guitar, the sound of soft chords and Junhee’s honey voice combining together, he decided it fit him really well.

Donghun was sure he just fell in love a little more.  
He wasn’t sure if Junhee singing a love song meant that the other did too.

 

The day continued on with them talking about the past more than the present.  
“I wish I could’ve gone with you to the city” Donghun confessed.  
“You don’t. This town is heaven, you should be grateful for being able to spend your life here. The city smells. It’s not pretty at all” Junhee told him, taking the cherry flavoured lollipop from his mouth to talk.  
Donghun noticed how his voice sounded sad, especially at the last part of his sentence.

A petal from the blossom tree slowly fell onto Junhee’s hair.  
Donghun couldn’t resist picking it off.  
Junhee seemed startled by Donghun suddenly moving towards him, stiffening in his place.  
“Sorry” Donghun laughed softly, picking the petal from Junhee’s hair and showing it to him. Junhee laughed and blew it from his fingers.

 

Donghun had always been competitive, but Junhee remembered too late, he had already challenged him into a game of stone skipping.  
Donghun lost. Donghun was also a sore loser.  
Which was how Junhee ended up being pushed into the water by Donghun.  
Junhee was offended at first, but he couldn’t keep the act up for long, as he let his smile shine through.  
Donghun saw the mischievous smile as a sign to run, but Junhee caught up on him and pulled him into the water by his waist.  
The cold water was a relief, the sun was burning hot.  
As they kept pushing each other into water, smashing water into their faces, bodies a little too close, Donghun believed he had never been happier.  
He could tell Junhee felt the same this time.

They used to be here all the time in summer. Swimming with their friends until their skin shrivelled up.  
Telling scary stories by campfires that robbed Junhee from peaceful dreams.  
He always reached for Donghun’s hand, tightly squeezing.

 

When Donghun’s parents divorced, he asked Junhee if he would leave him too, if they would ever get married.  
Junhee said he would never, and gave him a ring made of candy.  
Donghun ate it.  
But the gesture meant more than a thousand words to him.

 

That night when Donghun went home, leaving a trail of wet footsteps behind, there was no lollipop on his bed. But Junhee was in front of his window, pulling his wet shirt over his head.  
Donghun wasn’t sure if Junhee knew he was looking.

 

It was a sunny afternoon, when Donghun looked up from reading his book. The sun had made its way to the centre of the sky, claiming all attention. Birds were chirping calming songs, the ones Donghun liked to listen to at night.  
He followed the flying birds, and watched as they sat atop the treehouse in Junhee’s yard, old and unchanged.  
His attention shifted away from the birds, directing towards two feet dangling off the edge of the treehouse.  
Then curiosity took the better of him.

 

He climbed up using the wooden ladder, it had gotten engulfed by plants but it was still useable to his satisfaction. He peeked over the edge, and was met by a widely smiling Junhee, like he was expecting him.  
He looked like he had been here for a while, empty soda cans by his side.  
“I still can’t believe your dad voluntarily built this for us” Junhee said, looking out the wide gap at the front of the small treehouse.  
Donghun took place next to him, their shoulders pressed together from the lack of space, hands brushing against one another.  
“As long as it wouldn’t be in our yard he was fine with it” Donghun laughed softly, soon joined by Junhee.  
The latter offered him a can of soda, which Donghun gladly accepted.

The treehouse held a lot of their memories.  
Secret sleepovers, innocent first kisses.  
Their secret candy stash that was robbed by what they thought must’ve been a squirrel.  
A prosecution ensued, by detectives Mr. Park and Mr. Lee.  
It hadn’t been successful.

 

“I remember sitting here exactly like this when my dog passed away” Junhee then said, turning the light-hearted atmosphere around.  
Donghun remembered, too.  
The way Junhee had left a note on his window, asking for Donghun to come over. Only for Donghun to find a crying Junhee in the treehouse and a prettily painted headstone in their garden.  
He could see that Junhee had teary eyes once again.  
“You know,” the other began, “my mom passed away about a year ago” Junhee added, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence.  
And so it was exactly like that time Junhee’s dog died.  
With Donghun comforting a crying Junhee in his arms.

Junhee had to admit that there was no place he’d rather be.  
And Donghun would be lying if he said he didn’t cry a little too, at the loss of a kind woman so dear to him.

 

Donghun was surprised to see grown-up Junhee on a bike that was now too small for him. It was the red one his parents got him for his birthday when he was still a kid. Donghun had been jealous of it.  
Junhee used to pick Donghun up, and cycle the two of them to school.  
At some point in time, ‘Junhee’s bike’ had become ‘Junhee’s and Donghun’s bike’.

They used to cycle around town, trading marbles for candy with their friends, going home too late and being scolded by their parents.  
Not to mention the amount of bruises and knee-scrapes they had gotten over time.  
One day, Donghun recalled, he stood on the back of Junhee’s bike, feeling like he could take on the world.  
But not for long.  
He had fallen off in a sharp curve of the road, scraping his knee. He had tried his best not to cry. Junhee had sacrificed his shirt, wiping off the blood for him.  
He even kissed it better.  
Junhee had felt guilty, and that night Donghun found a plushie on his bed with a sticky note on it, stating ‘I’m sorry’.  
He still has it.

 

This time, Donghun didn’t fall when he stood on the back of Junhee’s bike, holding the latter’s shoulders for support.  
Trust me, Junhee had said, with a smile that made Donghun believe him.  
He felt the summer breeze through his still red hair, as he ducked down to avoid the tree branches hanging over the road. The sky was stained a pretty orange colour, slowly darkening as the sun was getting ready to be replaced by the moon.

Junhee signalled Donghun that he was slowing down, and so they both made it off the bike without any injuries.  
Except for Junhee complaining about how his legs hurt because the bike was too small, to which Donghun told him it was the right size, earning him a nudge in his ribs.  
Junhee pulled Donghun along a path through the trees, until an open field full of wild flowers were visible.  
Donghun’s mouth fell open by the pretty sight, flowers in every colour of the rainbow under the sky that was now bright pink. He had always loved the ambience of flowers.  
He didn’t even notice the way Junhee fondly looked at him and held his hand.

 

He carefully walked forward, flowers so tall some reached above his knees.  
“It’s a good thing I don’t have hay fever” Donghun said, tongue slightly darting out his mouth.  
“I would’ve remem-” Junhee replied, but he was cut off by Donghun dragging him along through the field.  
Before Junhee could tell him to slow down, Donghun already tripped over a few flower stems.

They made a free fall, Donghun ending up with his back pressed against flowers that were surprisingly soft and Junhee almost knocking their foreheads together.  
There was a silence.

“You’re stupid” Junhee then said, a smirk on his face.

“Am I?” Donghun asked, imitating his smirk.

Junhee’s eyes looked into his.  
Junhee’s eyes looked at his lips.  
Junhee’s eyes looked into his.  
There was a buzzing sound and an itch on his nose.

“BEE!” Junhee yelled, immediately running off.  
Donghun let out a shriek and waved his hands in front of his face while clumsily getting up.  
“Where is it?” he asked the other, sheer panic in his voice.  
“I don’t know” Junhee shrugged, standing a few steps away at a safe distance.  
Junhee watched Donghun run in a circle to ensure the bee was gone.

But then Donghun was gone.

“Yeah, you’re really stupid” Junhee laughed out loud, walking over to the crushed flowers and Donghun laying on top of them.  
“This was your idea” Donghun threw back at him.  
Junhee laughed it off, and laid himself down next to the other. The flowers were ruined already anyway.

He broke one of them off by the stem, tucking it behind Donghun’s ear.  
It was a red one, Junhee decided it fit him the best.  
Junhee’s hand lingered a little too long on Donghun’s face.  
Donghun just smiled.  
Although he was sure he’d have those rosy cheeks again.  
Junhee’s heart felt closer to his than it had ever felt.  
He didn’t know why Junhee took him here.  
Maybe because Junhee wasn’t so good with words.

 

They laid there for a while until the moonlight safely guided them home on their bike, Junhee’s hands around Donghun’s waist.

 

Donghun kept the flower in a cut off water bottle.

 

That night, Donghun couldn’t sleep. He kept tossing and turning in his bed.  
Must be the upcoming fever that made him so warm and restless, he thought.  
He ended up sitting on his bed, leaning his head on his knees and pouting his lips. He had left his window slightly ajar for the heat, the now cold breeze flowing through the atmosphere of his room.  
Suddenly the light in the room opposite to his went on.  
There was a dishevelled Junhee with a lollipop in the corner of his mouth and a note on his window.

 

_Are you awake?_

 

Donghun smiled at the sight, and got the notebook with pen out of his drawer. He had kept it, thinking that it might be necessary one day.  
Turns out he was right.  
He scribbled on the paper and turned his nightlight on.

 

_Yes_

 

He saw Junhee smile. The smile he had missed so much.

 

_Just like old times_

 

This time Donghun smiled, too.  
Before he could write something, Junhee had another paper ready.

 

_I really missed you_

 

Donghun furrowed his brows.  
Where was he going with this?  
Again, Junhee had another paper ready.

_I’m sorry I had to leave_  
_I didn’t want to_  
_You meant so much to me_

 

Junhee scribbled on the paper.

 

_You ~~meant~~ mean so much to me_

 

 

Donghun felt his heart begin to beat faster.  
He swallowed a lump in his throat.

 

_I came back for you_  
_For our memories together_  
_I’ve never met anyone like you_

 

 

Junhee looked out of the window with a slight look of despair.

 

_Me neither_

 

Donghun wrote down.  
Junhee began writing again.  
It took a while.

 

_I’ve never been a good talker  
That’s why I always liked this so much_

 

Donghun smiled, and nodded at Junhee, resting his head on his hands.  
The other continued writing.

 

_So many things have changed  
But we’ve stayed the same_

 

Junhee softly smiled, and took a hand through his hair.  
He nervously licked his lips.  
He seemed to hesitate for a moment.

 

_I want to tell you something_

 

Donghun tilted his head in curiosity.

 

_You can tell me anything, always_

 

Donghun tried to support Junhee.  
He watched as the other wrote on the paper, and held it up in front of his face.

 

_I love you_

 

Donghun was taken aback.  
Confused as a rosy colour spread across his face.  
Apparently it showed.  
He watched Junhee shake his head.

 

_Not just as friends_

 

Junhee added.  
Donghun felt his eyes getting a little teary as he rubbed them with his hands.  
Was he dreaming after all?

 

Donghun got up from his bed and left his room.  
Left his house.  
Walked the street.  
It seemed like Junhee had the same idea, as they bumped into each other on the small piece of grass between their houses.

Their eyes met.  
It was dark outside, the moon being their only source of light.  
But Donghun thought the sun rose in Junhee’s eyes.

Junhee’s lips were just as hot as the summer sun, tasting like his favourite cherry lollipop.  
The taste smothered all his senses.  
It felt like a deja-vu.  
It was.

Junhee was the first to pull away, breathless, but with a smile in his eyes.  
“I love you too” Donghun finally told him.

“Not just as friends” Donghun added, and smiled when Junhee cupped his face and kissed him again.

Donghun felt all warm inside.

 

That was when he realised, Junhee had been his summer fever all along.

**Author's Note:**

> so... i hope it was worth reading :^)  
> i’m not entirely satisfied with the story and i feel like the ending is a little off, but oh well.  
> here it is anyway. writing this was a lot of fun!  
> please consider leaving a comment with feedback, it’s much appreciated!! x


End file.
